KPMG noted recently that treasury managers currently tend to operate at the interface of financial stability, digital tech advancements and strategic corporate management. KPMG pointed out that as a result of this, they typically have to deal with a range of challenges, such as the fairly limited transparency of cash, the overall lack of centralised management of banking accounts as well as a high proportion of manual processes. Added to this are relatively fragmented system landscapes and increasing ESG compliance guidelines.
Against this particular context and backdrop, the Global Treasury Survey 2025 shared by KPMG reveals how companies across the globe are beginning to align and develop their respective treasury structures.
The report from KPMG noted that their latest analysis is based on a survey of 340 experts from over 20 countries, which aims to provide a comprehensive insight into the “practice of international finance departments.”
The study focuses on four topics that shape modern treasury:
- Cash management: increasing efficiency and optimising global payment flows
- Treasury technologies: Digitalisation, automation and the use of AI
- Value contribution and performance: management, key figures and strategic impact
- ESG: integrating sustainability goals into finance and investment processes
The results of the research study seemingly make it clear that centralisation is a key factor for achieving considerable efficiency.
The KPMG report further stated that nearly 80 per cent of respondents work with predominantly centralised treasury structures.
But automation is not currently keeping pace with this development, meaning that “many processes are still carried out manually.”
In cash management, the majority or 63 per cent of respondents consider “a reduction in their bank accounts to be an efficiency driver.”
Meanwhile, the degree of implementation remains low. This can be interpreted as an indication that complexity and local requirements often tend to make consolidation more challenging.
Treasury is also said to be in a transitional phase in terms of tech. In fact, 76 per cent of firms use a specialised treasury management system, but only 10 per cent currently use artificial intelligence. In the foreseeable future, AI will primarily support liquidity forecasts, “reporting and fraud prevention and detection.”
The topic of ESG is becoming quite relevant, the KPMG report noted while adding that around 65 per cent of respondents assume that sustainability aspects will become “significantly more important in the next three years, especially in financing and in the design of treasury policies.”